Harrogate Women’s 1st XI claim win against Bradford Park Avenue

Mark Doherty travels to the Kirbys Solicitors County Ground in Harrogate for the visit of Bradford Park Avenue Ladies in this West Yorkshire Women & Girls Cricket League Premier Division fixture.

Despite some dark clouds skirting around the edge of Harrogate, the County Ground was enjoying a longer burst of sunshine and the warmth it bestowed. There was a constant breeze that broke every now and then into a gentle, colder gust, reminding everyone that hot summer days were not quite here yet.

Harrogate Women’s 1st XI returned to St. George’s Road for their first home fixture of the season on Sunday afternoon against Bradford Park Avenue Ladies.

Although this would be their third game of the season, it was their first league outing of the campaign – the other two matches being Archer Cup group matches.

The ground has that familiar early-season feel: coats being put on and then taken off as the clouds rolled over and it became colder before returning to pleasantly warm conditions, and the unmistakable sense that the weather could turn at any moment.

In the end, bad weather held off just long enough for Harrogate to secure an impressive 48-run victory before heavy rain, and even hailstones, swept across the area shortly after the final wicket fell.

Harrogate build

After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Harrogate made a slightly nervous start, losing an early wicket before either side had really settled into the afternoon. BPA bowled with decent discipline during the opening overs – then backed it up with energetic fielding that immediately put pressure on the home side. 

As the innings developed, however, Harrogate gradually began to settle into a more composed rhythm.

There were flashes of real quality throughout the top order, including a well-timed boundary over the infield, and a particularly elegant square cut from Joanne Harrington that raced across the outfield. 

Bradford Park Avenue contributed some of the best fielding moments of the afternoon. One powerful strike from last season’s league player of the year and top run scorer, Tijana Metcalfe, that looked certain to reach the rope was somehow prevented by an excellent relay stop near the boundary edge.

Harrogate’s excellent early progress was interrupted after just ten overs as two wickets fell in quick succession, leaving the hosts briefly vulnerable and giving Avenue renewed encouragement.

However, rather than allowing the innings to drift, Harrogate responded calmly as Caitlin Metcalfe began to build her innings.

Caitlin became central to the steadying of the ship, batting with increasing confidence as the innings progressed – keeping the scoreboard moving.

The visitors continued to work hard in the field…one sharply struck drive was stopped painfully by the bowler as she bravely got her hand to the fast-moving ball; but Harrogate increasingly looked the more settled side as the afternoon wore on.

At drinks, Harrogate had built the foundations of a solid innings, and as the innings moved into its closing overs, the batting side began to take fuller advantage.

A dropped chance shortly after the interval proved costly for Bradford, allowing Harrogate to continue adding runs through the final stages of the innings. 

Captain Tijana Metcalfe was dismissed for 33, caught by Lilly Mae Hamilton off the bowling of Maisie Crabtree. However, it was her sister Caitlin’s innings that increasingly anchored the closing overs superbly.

By the time she was run out by Kirsty Gavillet, agonisingly just one short of her half century, Harrogate were pushing towards a genuinely competitive score. 

A few no-balls and wides from BPA late on in the innings also eased some pressure at key moments, allowing the home team to finish strongly without needing to force the pace recklessly. After 40 overs, Harrogate finished on a superb 199 for nine…a score that felt like it could be a match-winning total.

Captain Tijana and Caitlin Metcalfe had helped build the home team’s innings with a combined tally of 82 runs…a pairing that will be key to Harrogate’s success this season.

However, Joanne Harrington, Eloise Porter, Rosie Leach, and Lilah Marsden, amongst others, chipped in with good innings of their own. Shivanie Patel posted the best bowling figures for Bradford with three for just 19 runs.

Bradford control

Bradford Park Avenue’s reply began confidently and immediately placed Harrogate under a huge amount of pressure.

The visitors’ captain, Kirsty Gavillet, looked particularly assured from the outset, timing the ball beautifully through the off side while Harrogate struggled to maintain early consistency with the ball.

A few wides and no-balls allowed BPA to settle quickly, and the visitors steadily moved ahead of the required rate during the opening overs. 

Even after Harrogate claimed an early wicket, BPA continued to look comfortable. As the partnership between Kirsty and Emily Easingwood developed, it was making Harrogate’s total of 199 look well within their grasp.

Gavillet and Easingwood’s scoring remained controlled rather than frantic, and by the halfway point of the innings the visitors appeared to have placed themselves firmly in control of the game. 

Kirsty’s half-century was the centrepiece of that momentum. Batting with composure and confidence, she guided BPA through the middle overs while Harrogate searched for a breakthrough that could change the momentum of the game. 

Post-drinks collapse

Then, almost immediately after drinks, everything changed. Kirsty’s dismissal for 56 altered both the mood and energy around the ground in an instant.

The home team suddenly found greater rhythm with the ball, while BPA’s previously calm chase began to lose shape under growing pressure. The decisive spell that followed effectively won the match. Bradford Park Avenue slipped rapidly from a strong position as wickets began to fall.

A devastating passage reduced the visitors from just shy of 120 for one at the drinks break to 123 for 6 not long after it…including a moment in the 24th over when Harrogate’s Lilah Marsden was the finest of edges away from claiming a hat-trick. 

As cloud cover once again drifted across the ground and the light flattened noticeably late in the afternoon, Harrogate knew the game had swung decisively in their favour.

Fielders became louder and sharper, bowlers sending deliveries down the 22 with increasing confidence…Bradford never truly recovered from that sudden mid-innings collapse. 

With Emily Easingwood’s dismissal on 36, it appeared the visitor’s push to overhaul the total set for them was finished. Eventually Bradford Park Avenue were dismissed for a total of 151, handing the home team a deserved 48-run victory after a contest that had looked very different only an hour earlier.

Kirsty Gavillet and Emily Easingwood were superb with the bat for Bradford, threatening at one point to reach the required total by themselves.

Lilah Marsden’s four wickets for 28 helped Harrogate towards victory, however, it was Eloise Porter’s figures of six wickets for just seven runs that stood out…and her dismissal of BPA’s captain being key to the victory.

For Harrogate, it is still far too early in the season to make any firm assumptions based on a single performance. But for a first home outing of the summer, there were plenty of positives.

Harrogate are a team made up of young players, and last year, their opponents’ experience told.

However, there was a nucleus of an excellent team that, given time, could become a force in the Premier League. As this campaign gets underway, it is clear that the team are showing those signs of progression.

The batting showed patience and maturity, while the response with the ball after drinks demonstrated a real composure under immense pressure by two formidable batters. The future is very bright for this nascent Harrogate Women’s first XI.

Most importantly of all, they managed to complete the job just before the Yorkshire weather finally gave way…with heavy rain and even hailstones arriving shortly after the final wicket fell and the players headed to their cars.

What to read more?

Here are all of Mark’s articles and photos on Cricket Yorkshire.

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